Memoirs Of A Scenic Artist . . . part deuce

I don't know about this whole film painting thing. Drama. That's all it is, DRAMA. There are insane power struggles, budget issues, indicision . . . insanity, I say! Maybe I've just been spoiled because I've mostly worked with Doug and we get along so famously. Or, maybe the film industry really is just whacked and theatre dominates all. Either way, I'm excited to be done with Rugby LLC and out of that hole they call a building.

I don't think I will be able to go to Adam Nodal's wedding as I had planned. I was under the impression that he was getting married in August . . . at which point I would not be working on any films and would have a car with which to get to St. George/Hurricane to meet up with Jeremy. No, I was definitely wrong---he's getting married July 7th. That would be a week from tomorrow. TOMORROW. So, I don't think we'll be done painting for Rugby LLC by Thursday (it's definitely an all-day drive) and even if we were, how am I supposed to get down to southern Utah without a car?

There is a slight possibility that we could finish things up on the film in three days, Heidi could take an impromptu trip to Vegas, and she could drop me off on Thursday mid-afternoon on her way down.

We'll see. I just want to be done with this stinking film.

i'll dig a tunnel from my window to yours.

Remember this post? Well, about two-and-a-half months ago I had a finals week and I never bought myself a CD. I've been insanely busy and have not been going to the store very often. To make it up to myself, I bought myself two last night, since I happened to be shopping. Arcade Fire's Funeral and The Killers' Hot Fuss. The Killers are totally rad, but Arcade Fire is AMAZING. I was texting britta like an insane person because I love them so much. I am in love. I need more.

And, on another note, I need to buy Ganging Up On The Sun. I've been to two stores and neither had it. It's kind of killing me that I don't own it right now.



addendum:

--June 26, 10:58pm--  I just bought Ganging Up On The Sun and I like it. I'm glad I like it . . . I was honestly nervous about it. Guster's music has a tendency to grow on me the more I listen to it, so I'm interested to see how I feel about the album in a month or so. Right now, I'm mostly getting a feel for the sound. I haven't grasped all the lyrics yet. I'll report back after I've listened through a few more times. I love, LOVE Guster. I will say, though, that I wish there was more fierce bongo drumming on this album . . . like Lost And Gone Forever.

Ashland Alternatives

I didn't come up with much, but I thought I'd post what I found.

Our good old friend, OTC is doing a show called Five Guys Named Moe which looks like it could be really funny or just terribly cheesy.

And then there's Oregon Stage Works which I'd never heard of. Their show is The Wild Guys. Hmmmm.

I also found a site for the Schneider Museum which is a part of SOU.

March of the Penguins is apparently playing at the Oak Knoll Golf Course on August 4th . . . and there's free chocolate involved. Don't ask me how I found this, but I did.

Okay, that's all I've got for now. I'll keep looking in my spare time. Spare time. Ha! I have soooo much of it! Oh, and for anyone who's wondering, we're looking for alternate entertainment in Ashland, Oregon. Seems the Oregon Shakespeare Festival is pretty popular (who'd've thunk?) and we're having trouble getting as many tickets as we'd hoped for. We've got some for two shows, but have some extra time to fill. Any suggestions are welcome.

And she's hooked to the silver screen . . .

I have some bad news. Well, it's bad-ish.

Just as I thought might be, my boss sneakily underestimated the amount of time it will take to paint the boys' correctional facility. The place is a MESS . . . the building has been abandoned for several years. And, just as far as area in general, there are many more rooms to paint than he originally let on.

Today was my first day there and it was not only quite vile, but also unnerving. I was uncomfortable seeing the solitary confinement doors and the jail cells in the back. It's not like I've never seen a jail before, but it was dank, disgusting, and the thought of young men being trapped in there during their teenage years broke my heart. Luckly, the bulk of the painting is in hallways and office-type rooms.

I also got to meet Ryan Little today. You all may not think that's very impressive, but I was pretty excited. I adore everything I've seen that he's directed, and I only wish I'd gotten to talk to him more. We were talking in a group about holes in the walls and how well he wanted us to patch them, so we didn't actually have so much of a friendly discussion. Too bad. Maybe we'll cross paths again. Oh, and just FYI, since the building is going to be old in the film, he doesn't mind if it is a sub-standard patch job. Quick and dirty.

The long-and-the-short of it is I won't be making it home on June 24th. The plan was to finish up at the MPS a couple days ago and have a week or two to pack and get things together by a week from tomorrow. Since I got this job on another film, I'll be working longer than planned. I'm glad that I'll be working. The thought of spending a month-and-a-half at home without work is kind of unappealing. I love my home, family and friends . . . but after working 20 hours a day for a couple of months, I think that might be kind of hard.

So, I'm looking at flying around July 8-10th. I know, it's after the 4th . . . and I'm very disappointed about missing the fireworks over the river. I've never not seen them. Every year I have watched the 4th of July fireworks over the Columbia River. Please, someone, take pictures for me. Please.

Roman Candle

I walked home tonight drenched by a downpour in the middle of a ferocious thunder and lightening storm. It still rages outside, which is why I opened my window and turned off my lights. I love hearing the rain and seeing the thunderbolts. This is one thing we don't get much on the Oregon coast because we have mostly cold air from the ocean, and that's about it. This is one of the only things I love about Utah. The storms here are AMAZING. I can't get enough of this. I wish it would storm like this more often. I love the springtime and the rainy, stormy weather that accompanies it. Nothing (that I have yet encountered) beats the Pacific Northwest, but this storm is making up for all the unbearably hot weather we've had lately. It even makes up for the ridiculously hot weather we will yet have until my return to Oregon.

Like I said, this storm is amazing. Breathtaking.

As a side note, a very strange thing happened today. I worked late tonight (as I often do) and as I sat in the scene shop this evening, I listened to . . . [whispers] Elvis Presley. Yes, I know it is difficult to believe, but I voluntarily put on Elvis music. Stranger still, I enjoyed it. I cannot remember ever enjoying Elvis in my entire life . . . except for "Fools Rush In", "Love Me Tender", and "Suspicious Minds". I think my distaste came from negative association and this class we had to take in grade school called Physical Harmony. Anyway, it was a phenomena for me . . . to sit there and actually enjoy what I was hearing. I didn't even mind "Hound Dog".

send me a postcard, drop me a line

Because I have apparently been living under a rock since the end of April, I have not been up-to-date on the happenings in the entertainment industry. Last month, Paul McCartney and his wife Heather announced that after four years of marriage and one daughter together, they will be separating. Well, considering I have loved that man since I was about nine years old, it is indeed, heartbreaking to me. I don't know very much about his 29-year marriage with Linda, but apparently it was idyllic. Paul is a hopeless romantic and going through a divorce shatters his dreams, I'm sure. Perhaps he should've married someone closer to his age . . . closer to his "stage in life", if you'll forgive me for being so cliche.

Also, he turned down a lifetime achievement award from the Brit Awards. They were pretty stunned that he turned it down, but according to the article I read, he insisted that his career was far from over and that he was feeling "more creative than ever". I support this action. I hope he continues to make more music. Maybe he'll go on tour again. Rock on.

I find it highly ironic that Paul will be turning sixty-four in ten days.

dreaming outloud . . .

It's official.

My mother bought me a plane ticket this morning. I will be flying home on Saturday June 24th. I'd love to chill in Portland with friends for the rest of that day, but my brother has a performance thing that night I want to go to and I figure I should let my parents pick me up from the airport for once.

And, my boss at the film studio "let me go" yesterday. Actually, Heidi and I were both told that we were no longer needed . . . his two best, fastest, most talented and artistic painters. He's kind of cutting off his right arm and everyone in the art department is pretty outraged. The painting isn't finished and everyone is just waiting for the paint department to fall on its face. It's a loooong story, and Heidi and I have a pretty solid case for a wrongful termination suit, but we're not really the suing type. We had a run-in with him on Saturday, but have behaved perfectly since and done everything he's asked, no matter how ludicrous. Like I said, long, long story. I'm kind of sad that I don't get to hang out with the set dressers, carps, or grips anymore, but Heidi and I are going back to the studio to fill out time cards and say goodbye tomorrow. I met some great people, made connections, and I know they'll hire me back next summer, as long as Wayne isn't working. They may even hire us back on the project in the set dressing department if they get crunched later this week---but they've got a pretty large crew, so we're not counting on it.

In other theatre/film news, my two shows are both open as of this last weekend, and from what I hear, things are going well for both of them. I might end up working some days at BYU just cleaning and things until I fly home . . . so I won't be bored out of my mind. But, Heidi and I have some plans to have some fun here before I take off.

So I have no obligitory attachments left in Utah for the summer as of last night at about 7:30pm.

Goodbye 95-degree weather.

Just a couple more weeks, and I'll be in Oregon.

I love Robert Redford almostas much as I love Paul Newman.

I had this dream last night.  I was at Provo Theatre Company and my boss took me aside and was like, "Jennifer, we need talk."  So, we go to house left and he's like, "I have something to tell you" . . . and he pauses . . . "Neil Simon doesn't like the set."

I panic.  Opening night was that night, just before the house was about to open.  We didn't have time to redo it.  We didn't even have time to slap a new color on the walls.  Ahhh!!  So, my mind is racing . . . trying to figure out a way to change the set significantly in fifteen minutes so the playwright won't hate me.  I was so sad that I had thought the set was good, and yet the playwright hated it.  I felt like a failure of a designer.

What was Neil Simon doing in Provo anyway?

And that's all I remember.

"When it's 100 in New York, it's 72 in Los Angeles.
When it's 20 in New York, it's 72 in Los Angeles.
However, there are six million interesting people in New York—
and 72 in Los Angeles."
Neil Simon